TMI Blog2009 (4) TMI 1031X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 22 persons attacked the house of Qayyum - As per the medical reports, the injured persons sustained gunshot injuries which were grievous in nature - later on, Rizwan and Anzar Hussain died. HELD THAT:- Normally this Court does not interfere with the order of the High Court relating to grant or rejection of bail but in the instant case, having carefully gone through the impugned order, we are constrained to observe that the High Court has completely ignored the basic principles which are to be kept in view while dealing with an application filed u/s 439 of the Code for grant of bail and has thus, committed a manifest error in the matter of grant of bail to the second respondent, warranting interference by this Court. The background of the incident, the nature of the assembly, the nature of the arms carried by the accused and the manner in which the offences were committed, prima facie, reflect the character and the conduct of the accused for whom perhaps refusal by the shopkeeper to sell goods on credit was a challenge to their authority and the power they wielded in the area. Be that as it may, the significant feature of the case is that the learned Judge, except for recordin ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... stated, the background facts giving rise to the present appeal are as follows: On 18th September, 2007, at about 5.25 p.m., an FIR was lodged by the appellant with the said police station for an incident which took place at about 3.30 p.m. at village Asmouli. The case was registered as Crime Case No. 347 of 2007. It was reported that at about 3.30 p.m., on that day the appellant had gone to the shop of one Anzar s/o Mehboob where one Basiruddin @ Lala also came to buy some fruits. On Anzar s (shopkeeper) refusal to sell goods to him on credit, Basiruddin started beating him, on which the appellant intervened. Being annoyed, Basiruddin left the place. But, after a short while he came back, accompanied by 21 other persons, including the second respondent. All of them were armed with guns and country made firearms. Due to fear, the appellant rushed to the house of his brother Qayyum. All the said 22 persons attacked the house of Qayyum. On hearing noise, the residents of the house and many other residents of the village, collected at the spot. The said accused started firing indiscriminately, injuring 9 persons. Some of them sustained multiple injuries. All the injured persons were ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... any opinion on the merits of the case, the applicant is entitled to be released on bail with the below mentioned conditions. Let the applicant Chhunna @ Chhidda involved in Crime Case No. 347 of 2007 under Sections 147, 148, 149, 307 302, IPC, P.S. Asmoli, District Moradabad be released on bail on his furnishing a personal bond and two heavy sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the Court concerned. The applicant shall report to the court of learned C.J.M. concerned in the first week of each month to show his good conduct and behaviour. He shall not tamper with the evidence. In case of default of any of the above mentioned conditions, the bail granted to the applicant shall be deemed cancelled and he shall be taken into custody forthwith. 8. Being aggrieved by the order enlarging the second respondent on bail, the complainant is before us in this appeal. 9. Learned counsel appearing for the appellant strenuously urged that the High Court has not only failed to take into consideration the circumstances under which a heinous crime, resulting in loss of two lives and grievous injuries to a number of persons was committed, it also failed to recor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... prejudice the accused, should be avoided but there is a need to indicate in such order reasons for prima facie concluding why bail was being granted particularly where the accused is charged of having committed a serious offence. Any order devoid of such reasons would suffer from non-application of mind. It is also necessary for the Court granting bail to consider among other circumstances, the following factors also before granting bail; they are: (a) The nature of accusation and the severity of punishment in case of conviction and the nature of supporting evidence. (b) Reasonable apprehension of tampering with the witness or apprehension of threat to the complainant. (c) Prima facie satisfaction of the Court in support of the charge. (See: Ram Govind Upadhyay Vs. Sudarshan Singh(2002) 3 SCC 598, Puran Vs. Rambilas (2001) 6 SCC 338 and Kalyan Chandra Sarkar Vs. Rajesh Ranjan @ Pappu Yadav Anr. (2004) 7 SCC 528 13. There is no denying the fact that the liberty of an individual is precious and is to be zealously protected by the Courts. Nonetheless, such a protection cannot be absolute in every situation. The valuable right of liberty of an individual and the interest ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is manifest from the afore extracted order that there is no consideration of any of the factors, like nature of the offence; the evidence collected by the prosecution and forming part of the chargesheet and the circumstances under which the offences were committed, all relevant for deciding the question whether the bail should be granted or not. In our opinion, failure on the part of the learned judge in not indicating any reason for grant of bail particularly when charges against the second respondent are serious, makes his order indefensible. As observed by this Court in Puran s case (supra), giving reasons is different from discussing merits or demerits. At the stage of granting bail, a detailed examination of evidence and elaborate documentation of the merits of the case is not to be undertaken but that does not mean that while granting bail some reasons for prima facie concluding why bail was granted are not to be indicated, which is the case here. 16. For the foregoing reasons, the appeal is allowed and the impugned order granting bail to the second respondent is set aside. The bail bond and surety furnished by the said respondent in terms of the High Court s order stand c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
